Women's Soccer Shuts Out Plymouth

Marissa Jacob (File photo)
Marissa Jacob (File photo)

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Bella Eduardo (Springfield, Mass./Chicopee) handed out a pair of assists, and freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Davis (Templeton, Mass. Quabbin) posted her third straight shutout as Westfield State topped Plymouth State, 3-0 in a non-conference women's soccer game at Arold Field on Tuesday afternoon.

WSU broke through in the 31st minute when junior Alex Mello (Westfield, Mass.) collected a feed from classmate Hallee Tripp (Swansea, Mass.) and beat Parsons to the low right corner.

Westfield State doubled its lead in the 49th minute after capitalizing on a breakaway opportunity. Eduardo came in along the right side, then sent a cross to freshman Marissa Jacob (Jefferson, Mass.), who tapped a soft shot to the far post. 

PSU nearly broke through in the 68th minute when sophomore Jordan Meier (Holderness, N.H.) fired a shot toward the right post, but freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Davis (Templeton, Mass.) made a diving save.

Eduardo created another goal in the 69th minute when she carried the ball through traffic to the top of the box before flipping a pass to senior Juliana Templeman (East Longmeadow, Mass.) on the right side for an easy score and the 3-0 final.

Plymouth Junior goalkeeper Jenna Parsons (Windham, N.H.) made career-high 11 saves. 

Westfield State held an 18-8 advantage in shots, including a 12-2 margin in the first half, though PSU earned four corner kicks to the Owls' two. 

Davis finished with five saves in net for the Owls who have  won four straight and shut out their last three opponents.

The road warriors from Westfield State improve to 6-4-1 overall.  The Owls have played road games in six different states (New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts) so far this season.

Westfield was able to use 22 players in the match, with a chance to stay fresh for a busy week, which includes a crosstown rivalry game at Western New England on Thursday afternoon, before conference play picks back up with a MASCAC match at home on Saturday against Framingham State in what is now a 4:00 p.m. start at Alumni Field.

Plymouth fell to 5-6-1 on the season.